Kane hails England’s preparation as squad arrives at base camp

KANSAS CITY: Harry Kane said England had enjoyed “great preparation” ahead of their World Cup campaign as the squad touched down in Kansas City – their base camp for the tournament.

Thomas Tuchel’s men arrived in the Midwest on Saturday following a camp in Florida, where they played two friendly matches, against New Zealand and Costa Rica, winning both.

They are one of the favourites to win the World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the US after coming close to winning silverware at recent major tournaments.

England captain Kane said preparation for their opening match against Croatia next Wednesday in Arlington, Texas, had been “top drawer”.

“The way we worked, the way we trained, the preparation for games, the way we played and also just the togetherness, the way we reconnected,” he said.

“The relaxation away from it as well, the recovery part of it. Everything was at the highest level so I feel like we can come into this part of the camp knowing that we’ve had great preparation.”

The 32-year-old Bayern Munich forward said now the squad was in Kansas City, they could “start to feel the real World Cup anticipation”.

“Obviously we’ve still got a few more days until our first game but this is where the business starts,” he added.

“This is going to be our home for the next six weeks, hopefully, and looking forward to getting started.”

Kane said England’s performance in their 3-0 win against Costa Rica on Wednesday had been “top from start to finish” as they prepare for a tough opener in Group L.

“Croatia are a difficult team,” he said.

“They proved in the last two World Cups, especially, that they can be one of the best teams in the tournament and we have to be ready for that,” added Kane, who was in the side that lost to Croatia in the 2018 World Cup semi-finals.

Tuchel, appointed with a brief to win England’s first World Cup since 1966, said his men were “ready to go”.

“We are acclimatised,” said the German. “We have been quite a while in the country. They have worked hard enough. We have been exposed to enough heat. We’re in a good place.”

The other two teams in Group L are Ghana and Panama.